Ask a Student: All about Philosophy and Politics!

Hi everyone!

One of our most popular course combinations is Philosophy and Politics, so we'll be sharing some of our lovely student's experiences of studying these subject areas at University-level. We'll be hearing from Celeste, a 2nd year BA Ethics, Value and Philosophy student, and Jack, a 2nd year PPE student, and finding out more about why they chose their degrees and how they're finding it so far.

Please let them know if you have any questions, and we hope you find the thread helpful!

Lottie :smile:

GRTUK and Reading alumna (History)

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 1

UniofReading

Official Rep

Hi everyone! My name is Celeste and I am currently a second-year Ethics, Value and Philosophy student at the University of Reading. For the philosophy takeover, I am going to share what it's like studying philosophy and why I chose to study this course at the University of Reading.

Firstly, I chose this course because it had the topics, I was most interested in. For example, I really enjoyed studying Buddhism at A-Level Religious Studies, therefore I was really pleased to see it would be taught as a part of the Global Justice module in the first year for my cohort and Global Philosophy module in the second year. When I was searching for University courses, I found that not many offered topics on non-Western philosophy, which is something that makes the University of Reading stand out. I was also really interested in Ethics and found that not many Universities that had courses in Philosophy also included Ethics, therefore, the Ethics, Value and Philosophy course at Reading was the best fit for my interests.

Secondly, I liked that the course didn't have any exams because I personally found exams at A Level to be very stressful. Instead, the course is assessed through coursework mainly from essays. There are also small in-class tests and small presentations. I much prefer these ways of being assessed compared with exams because I personally find them less stressful.

Some of my favourite modules I have done thus far are firstly, Global Justice (a first-year module), where we looked at justice in different views such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Native American Philosophy, Martin Luther King's philosophy, and Nelson Mandela's philosophy. Secondly, Ethical argument (which I did as a second-year module), where we looked at topics such as arguments for and against fairtrade, Peter Singer’s argument that morality requires more of us, Judith Jarvis Thomson’s arguments in support of abortion, Plato’s arguments that the soul has three parts, Mill’s utilitarianism (we should promote general happiness), aesthetics, (specifically if the ethical value of art influences its aesthetic value), debates surrounding justice, (if justice is good for its own sake or only good for the good effects it brings you). I found these topics so interesting to read about and discuss with other students in classes and enjoyed writing the essays.

If any of these topics interest you, you might want to consider studying philosophy at the University of Reading!

One of the reasons I have enjoyed the course is that I have found the lecturers to be really friendly and helpful in answering questions and offering essay advice. It makes such a difference having support from all angles at University!

I have really enjoyed the course thus far and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in Philosophy and Ethics.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Celeste :smile:

2nd Year Ethics, Value and Philosophy Student

University of Reading

Reading

PPE Uncovered: Unravelling the mysteries of the Tripartite Degree.

Hey Everyone!

My names is Jack and I study PPE at the University of Reading! I’ve been charged with taking control of the thread for today’s Politics takeover! I’m sure many of you are asking what PPE is so let's delve straight into it.

First, let’s start with what PPE is not, this might seem obvious but people love to assume PPE is the study of hardhats and facemasks! Don’t worry - it’s not! What PPE actually is is Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Yes, really, a mix of all three! That's the beauty of a tripartite degree.

So, with that out of the way, what does a Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) degree actually consist of? Well from my experience at the University of Reading, I can say your academic year is divided between the three subjects, not one at a specific term, but rather your original 120 credits are split between all three courses and their potential modules. This means we get the unique opportunity to try out three different courses and their respective modules all at the same time! Not only this, but I also firmly believe this makes PPE the most customisable course as after your first year and you’ve narrowed down your favourites, you can choose to drop your least favourite and continue your degree with only two out of three subjects while still getting a full tripartite PPE degree! That’s not to say you can’t continue to do all three because, yet again, you can! I can’t think of another course that allows you to study in three uniquely different subject fields, and specialise in your favourite at the same time!

With the fundamentals of PPE out of the way, I should probably talk about why I chose this degree, and where I hope it can take me in future. For me, I had never considered the idea of university, let alone a degree in a subject field of which I had never previously studied. You see, by trade, I am a qualified mechanic and engineer. To perform such a drastic switch would be almost obviously outrageous, but having no ideas for the future at the time, and several meetings with my teachers we had concluded that studying what many would consider as shower thoughts, while also pursuing topics which I was already surrounded by in daily life would be an opportunity I would only get once and potentially a spark at finding something I could have passion for. Little did I realise two years ago that this decision would make me discover what I wanted to do. I was instantly enveloped in political philosophy and military politics. These two niche topics drew my attention in at large and my passion for cultures and combined it with an ideal future, I would become an ambassador and travel abroad potentially seeking higher placement in the civil service. Somebody with a PPE degree would normally consider going into politics, as many prime ministers of our past have studied PPE for its variety of essential skills. Yet as you learn on this degree, there are always applicable skills outside of the regular normal path, and hence this is the path I still to this day am aiming to follow.

Without delving further into myself, I believe it's fair to end this takeover with some key points regarding Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

First, PPE is, in my opinion, the most customisable course available at university with so many pathways, options and different topics to cover, it allows you to specialise in your areas of interest.

Secondly, PPE gives you three options for your final year, meaning you can focus a dissertation on one area, but still draw in ideas across the three subjects giving you the most information at your disposal to get those high marks!

Finally, PPE gives you the most base options to socialise at university! Three subjects, three sets of classes, and three mixers initially to help boost your confidence within your new university lifestyle!

I hope this gives you some insight into what PPE is actually like at uni, and reassures anyone thinking of studying this course from a less-than-traditional academic background! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask away!

Jack :smile:

Second Year PPE student